history and criticism

Presents an overview of American literature from 1800 to 1860, examining the social, cultural, and historical contexts of the time, exploring such topics as Romanticism, Transcendentalism, and social reform and discussing such authors as Emily Dickinson, Frederick Douglass, Edgar Allan Poe, Longfellow, and more.

Presents an overview of American literature from 1860 to 1910, examining the social, cultural, and historical context of the time, discussing such topics as slave narratives, naturalism and sectionalism and authors including Stephen Crane, Henry James, Mark Twain, Jack London, and more.

Present an overview of American literature from 1945 to 2005, examining the social, cultural, and historical contexts of the time, discussing such topics as post-World War Two literature, ethnic and minority literature, the Civil Rights movement, Postmodernism, and more.

Presents an overview of American literature from Colonialism through 1800, examining the social, cultural, and historical contexts of the time, providing information on Puritan morality, Enlightenment philosophy, and authors such as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine, Phillis Wheatley, and more.

Presents an overview of American literature from 1910 to 1945 examining the social, cultural, and historical contexts of the time, providing information on Surrealism, Expressionism, the Harlem Renaissance, and Modernism, and including a discussion of T.S. Eliot, Langston Hughes, John Steinbeck, and more.

Discusses the life, career, and influence of the popular writer of legal thrillers.

Presents an overview of the literary movement known as American realism, and features fifteen critical articles that offer a definition of realism, and discuss the rise of naturalism, class, race, and gender in American realism; national character in American realism; and realism after 1914.

Contains twelve essays that provide critical assessments of comic books and their role in popular culture, discussing the defining elements of comic books, looking at comics as a reflection of cultural values, and examining new forms of comic books.

Chronicles the life of J. R. R. Tolkien, author of "The Lord of the Rings," providing historical context, a time line, informative sidebars, and photos and illustrations.

Discusses the life of American author J.D. Salinger and the historical context, plot, characters, and themes of his novel "The Catcher in the Rye"; also includes ideas for research, excerpts of criticism, and a chronology.